The Kerala High Court has given the state government two additional weeks to update the court on long-term actions to prevent landslides in places such as Wayanad after the Kalladi debris slip.
A Division Bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and A.K. Preetha examined the suo motu case linked to the 2024 Chooralmala landslide.
On the Kalladi event, the state noted that immediate steps including project suspension, a safety review, debris stabilisation and removal, protection of at-risk residents, legal proceedings, and checks at other vulnerable sites have been completed.
The court extended time for the government to clarify its handling of excavated material from road projects. It also sought details on setting up a monitoring cell for environmental clearances in construction, consulting local residents before projects begin, and reassessing reports pending over three years.
The July 7 debris slip happened at the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi Twin Tube Tunnel Road Project in Wayanad, where earth fell onto the Meenakshi Bridge near Kalladi, killing eight and injuring ten. Konkan Railway was carrying out the work.
The amicus curiae informed the court that the District Disaster Management Authority had predicted the slip and had warned agencies about nearly one lakh cubic metres of accumulated excavated earth that later collapsed.
